I checked around but couldnt find this mentioned already. I was very saddened to find out today that long time Doom player and compet-n contributor, and more importantly my good friend, Joe "DOOMMANN" Abene very recently passed away after a battle with cancer.

I did not know that Joe was sick. Last time I spoke to him (a couple of months ago, after he added me on facebook) he seemed fine, and happy about his life, and looked to be in awesome shape for a 50 year old.

Joe was one of the good guys, anyone who ever exchanged mail or dialogue with the man could testify to this. I first befriended him through my compet-n contributions. He took the time to mail me a very friendly, lengthy mail back in 1999 when I "wiped out" most of his compet-n records in one upload, as he put it. Most of the guys playing at the time would not be too thrilled about that, but Joe instead complimented me in abundance, asked for advice and continiued to be so complimentary of my work through the years, that I felt all these hours invested in the game ment something.

Years later, when I reached a low point in my life, he mailed me some good advice and wanted to help. Thats just how he was I suppose, the kinda guy who took care of his friends. We lost touch for some years until he popped up on facebook, and I got to follow his life there for a while - and he had alot going on!

For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to befriend him, or those looking for a trip down memory lane, you can look up his profile at the compet-n website:

Joe was a reptile keeper at the Bronx Zoo for 15 years, and a real expert on venomous snakes among alot of other stuff. He was also a competitive bodybuilder at some point. A man of many talents, but most of all just genuine, nice, friendly and caring towards everyone.

What has he done in regards to the Doom community? Any mapping? Speedruns? demos? I'd like to sift through them. I wish this hadn't happened but obviously it's unrealistic to expect people to live forever. I hope he's lounging with his snakes in heaven or killing monsters really really fast in hell, whichever he prefers.

40oz said:What has he done in regards to the Doom community? Any mapping? Speedruns? demos? I'd like to sift through them. I wish this hadn't happened obviously it's unrealistic to expect people to live forever.

You can check out his recording work there. He was a solid player for his time compared to the not so extensive time he put in on these. Joe was inactive in regards to the doom scene for quite a few years, but he had started playing the game again recently.

Good eulogy. Always sad to see one of the nice ones go. Though I didn't know him, it sounds like he got up to some good business before kicking the bucket. Good on him; the rest of us should be so lucky.

40oz said:What has he done in regards to the Doom community? Any mapping? Speedruns? demos? I'd like to sift through them. I wish this hadn't happened but obviously it's unrealistic to expect people to live forever. I hope he's lounging with his snakes in heaven or killing monsters really really fast in hell, whichever he prefers.

Joe Abene holds two Compet-n speed records to this day: E3M9 in UV -fast category (2:31, included in the DSDA link provided by Anders) and the amazing E3M8 Tyson record, one of the luckiest demos in history.